AUDIO-VISUAL: Knoll Systems amplifier wins Electronic House

We covered the energy efficiency of the Knoll Systems multi-zone audio amplifiers earlier this year.  Just this week the company won Electronic House’s 2008 Product of the Year Award for the GSZ67 multi-room audio controller amplifier!  Congratulations!!

The GSZ67 is an amplifier that controls multiple speaker “zones” in your newly remodeled home.  The multi-room controller allows you to plug in 7 different audio sources (e.g. Sonus, iPod, Sirius, XM, Comcast, etc.) and play a different audio source in up to 6 different places in your home (or backyard). 

The significance of the GSZ67 is the innovative Knoll Systems Eco-System circuitry that, unlike other multi-zone amplifiers, dramatically reduces power consumption when zones in your home are not being used!   This reduction in energy usage, also contributes less to heat creation, further reducing your cooling needs.

If A/V is part of your remodel, take a look at the GSZ67.  We also hear there are some more great power saving audio innovations coming from Knoll at the CEDIA show in September!!

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AUDIO-VISUAL: Which whole house audio amplifiers are most efficient?

As homeowners, many of us will use our home remodel as an opportunity to ?upgrade? our existing home audio and visual equipment such as televisions, amplifiers, satellite/cable box, DVD players, whole house audio, video games, etc. 

With these upgrades, you have an opportunity to reduce power consumption in your home ? making your home a greener home.  Further, if your new equipment is an addition to your power consumption, then there are products that are better choices than others relative to energy consumption. 

Today, we want to talk about the whole house audio category, and innovation which is occurring in the whole house audio market.  Whole house audio is sound that is piped to various locations in your home, and you hear it through speakers in your walls or ceiling.  You select a source (DVD, iPod, Pandora, XM Satellite) in the room you are occupying, your amplifier recognizes your selection, and then delivers the sound/music to your location. 

A key component of whole house audio system is a multi-channel amplifier.  Suppliers of multi-zone multi-channel amplifiers are company?s such as Read more

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HOME AUTOMATION: Automating your home with Crestron “go green” plan

“Heating and cooling systems in the U.S. emit 150 million tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere each year, and also generate 12% of the nation’s sulfur dioxide and 4% of its nitrogen oxide, the chief ingredients in acid rain,” according to data that accompanies Crestron’s recent “Green Paper” entitled Intelligent Efficiency: Crestron Makes Life Greener.  How can we control the usage of these home systems (heating, AC, lighting, sprinklers, audio/visual) better, and optimize the duration and timing they remain in operation?  Home Automation.   

I had my first exposure to home automation while working with Kaleidescape whole house video/audio systems (not ENERGY STAR rated) some years back, and later working with Siemens.  Home automation systems and controls (like Crestron) can cut down the energy you use in your home.  With a home automation system you can automate the lighting in your home, as well as Heating, AC, computer and audio/visual to only operate during times it is needed, and to shut off automatically.  According to the Crestron paper, the potential savings on energy in your home can be 3% for scheduling and dimming lights, and 4% for automating thermostats — based on a 4,000 square foot home where lighting accounts for 10% of total energy usage and heating/cooling accounts for 31%.

In addition to the green paper, the Crestron team has a ”green” area of their website, www.crestron.com/gogreen.  GetWithGreen.com recommends taking a look at these systems and controls as you do your remodel.   A good time to get them quoted is once your architectural drawings are completed.  Typically you will purchase the systems through an audio/visual specialist in your area.

With their recent announcement, Crestron also published a 7-page “Green Paper”, entitled The paper discusses

Download the Crestron paper.  Note you will need to Name, Email, and State to get access. 

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